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President-elect Donald Trump waves as he walks with former first lady Melania Trump at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, early Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In Lafayette Parish, like most of Louisiana, Republican President-elect Donald Trump performed well in predominantly White precincts, while Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, was strong in predominantly Black precincts.
Trump's popularity didn't shift much in Lafayette Parish compared to the 2020 presidential election, as he finished with about 520 fewer votes than the last election. Harris did not perform as well as President Joe Biden did in 2020. She came up about 2,515 shy of Biden's 39,685 votes in 2020.
Detailed demographics from the Nov. 5 election, showing breakdowns by party, race and gender, won't be available in Louisiana for a few weeks, according to Joel Watson Jr., Deputy Secretary of State, communications.
But precinct totals and percentages available now show where each candidate outperformed the other in the race to claim Louisiana's eight electoral college votes. Statewide, about 2 million people voted in the election, a 66% turnout, with 1.2 million votes going to Trump and 766,405 to Harris.
Turnout in Louisiana was down compared to the 70% turnout in the 2020 election when Biden defeated then-President Trump, who carried Louisiana with 1.25 million votes compared to Biden's 856,000. In Lafayette Parish on Nov.
5, turnout was 68%. Returns show 111,078 votes were cast, 65% (71,999) for Trump and 33% (37,170) for Harris. By comparison, turnout in the parish in 2020 was 71.
6% with 114,521 votes cast. Trump captured 63% (72,519) of the vote and Biden received 35% (39,685). Lafayette Parish precincts in and around Duson had some of the highest turnout rates in Tuesday's election.
Fifty-four percent of registered voters in Precinct 27, who vote at the Duson Community Center, cast ballots. Other precincts in that area that saw high voter turnout include Precinct 119, Ossun Elementary School, with a 49% turnout; Precinct 28, Duson Elementary School, 49% turnout; Precinct 37, Judice Middle School, with a 47% turnout; and Precinct 114, voting at Duson Elementary School, with a 46% turnout. Only two people voted at Precinct 130, the Heymann Recreation Center on Orange Street in Lafayette, where only 12 people are registered to vote.
In Broussard, Precinct 131, Broussard Middle School, saw only six votes cast Tuesday out of 22 registered voters. Those small precincts are the result of reapportionment, Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret said. A demographer redrew various voting districts like state Senate and House districts, based on population shifts recorded in the latest U.
S. Census. "It's nothing we can control," Perret said.
He estimated it cost about $1,000 to hire election commissioners to man each of the precincts. Registrar of Voters Charlene Menard said the small precincts are not permanent. During a voter canvas next year she should be able to move voters from those small precincts into other precincts, because they contain fewer than 300 voters.
Other precincts with the lowest voter turnout percentage in the parish include: Precinct 51, Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 23%. Precinct 104, Ernest Gallet Elementary, (East Milton Avenue), 23%. Precinct 115, Broussard Middle, 23%.
Precinct 96, Allen Comeaux Recreation Center (Bluebird Drive), 24%. Precinct 128, East Regional Library (La Neuville Road), 24%. Precinct 19, Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 24%.
Precinct 128, East Regional Library (La Neuville Road), 24%. Precincts where the largest percentage of voters supported Trump are scattered throughout the parish, with the exception of the city of Lafayette's northside: 94%, Precinct 76, LEDA (Devalcourt Street). 86%, Precinct 119, Ossun Elementary.
86%, Precinct 135, Southside High School. 83%, Precinct 28, Duson Elementary. 83%, Precinct 105, Milton Elementary.
83%, Precinct 129, Evangeline Elementary (East Butcher Switch Road). 83%, Precinct 131, Broussard Middle School. 82%, Precinct 101, Martial Billeaud Elementary (Broussard).
81%, Precinct 25, Scott City Hall. 81%, Precinct 79, L.J.
Alleman Middle School. 81%, Precinct 114, Duson Elementary. 81% Precinct 122, Carencro Middle School.
81%, Precinct 132, South Regional Library. Harris' support was strongest in the city of Lafayette's northside, where the population is heavily Black. She strongly outperformed Trump in places like Precinct 18, Alice Boucher School, where Harris won 93% (317) of the vote compared to Trump's 6% (21 votes).
Harris received her largest number of votes at Precinct 20, Northside High, 350 votes; Precinct 18, Alice Boucher School, 317 votes; and Precinct 11, Acadian Middle School on Moss Street, 305 votes..
